The Wonder of Boys: What Parents, Mentors and Educators Can Do to Shape Boys into Exceptional Men

	The Wonder of Boys: What Parents, Mentors and Educators Can Do to Shape Boys into Exceptional Men
	Gurian, Michael Ph.D.
	Westminster, London, UK : Penguin Group, © 2006
Book 320 pp	ISBN-13: 9781585425280    ISBN: 1585425281
Synopsis A developmental guide for understanding the unique needs of boys, including practical advice for raising them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was quite an eye opener for me as a woman raising a son. It has profoundly effected my decisions in his upbringing and how I have related to him at different ages. I recommend this book, particularly to mothers. – capriccio Yes, boys and girls are different, says Washington state family therapist Gurian (Mothers, Sons and Lovers), urging that society learn how to deal creatively with gender-specific needs. In considering the cultural effects of heightened gender consciousness, Gurian warns of the dangers of "enmeshing male development with a female culture in transition." Outlining biological differences, he explains that boys are "hard-wired" to possess certain traits. Because of male brain chemistry and the hormone testosterone, boys are apt, for example, to relish risk-taking and to be physically aggressive and competitive (violence, he claims is not hard-wired, but learned through culture). What Gurian adds to this generally recognized background material is a persuasive summons to society, specifically parents, educators and communities, to unite to channel these traits in positive directions. Sports, for instance, allow competition but also teach responsibility. Work, nature study, music and spiritual pursuits are other positive channels. Gurian, who has also lived in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, suggests that we in the U.S. have grown away from beneficial rites of passage and toward "isolated, tremulous, family systems." In this shift, he contends, boys have been abandoned, and he urges that society reclaim responsibility for the moral and spiritual upbringing of young males, with guidance offered by elder mentors and support coming from extended family or community. Writing in a calm, compassionate voice, Gurian delivers a compelling call to action. 50,000 first printing; author tour. (Oct.) – Publisher’s Weekly

The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men

	New York, New York USA : Simon & Schuster, © 2001
Book 256 pp	ISBN-13: 9780684849577    ISBN: 0684849577
Synopsis It's a bad time to be a boy in America. As the century drew to a close, the defining event for American girls was the triumph of the U.S. women's soccer team. For boys, the symbolic event was the mass killing at Columbine High School. It would seem that boys in our society are greatly at risk. Yet the best-known studies and the academic experts say that it's girls who are suffering from a decline in self-esteem. It's girls, they say, who need extra help in school and elsewhere in a society that favors boys. The problem with boys is that they are boys, say the experts. We need to change their nature. We have to make them more like...girls. These arguments don't hold up to scrutiny, says Christina Hoff Sommers in this provocative, fascinating book. She analyzes the work of the leading academic experts, Carol Gilligan and William Pollack, and finds it lacking in scientific rigor. There is no girl crisis, says Sommers. Girls are outperforming boys academically, and girls' self-esteem is no different from boys'. Boys lag behind girls in reading and writing ability, and they are less likely to go to college. The "girl crisis" has been seized upon by some feminists and has been suffused with sexual politics. Under the guise of helping girls, many schools have adopted policies that penalize boys, often for simply being masculine. Sommer says that boys do need help, but not the sort they've been getting. They need help catching up with girls academically. They need love, discipline, respect, and moral guidance. They desperately need understanding. They do not need to be rescued from masculinity. Sommer (Who Stole Feminism?) pulls no punches in this critique of the current crop of "crisis" studies about boys. Methodically analyzing and dismantling what she calls the "myth of shortchanged girls" as well as the "new and equally corrosive fiction that boys as a group are disturbed"--theories she calls "speculative psychology"--she bolsters her findings with extensive footnotes and data from such sources as the U.S. Department of Education. Sommers's conclusions are compelling and deserve an unbiased hearing, particularly since they are at odds with conventional wisdom that paints girls as victimized and boys as emotionally repressed. "Routinely regarded as protosexists, potential harassers and perpetuators of gender inequity, boys live under a cloud of censure," she writes, going on to show how they are also falling behind academically in an educational system that currently devotes more attention to the needs of girls. Pointing out that "Mother Nature is not a feminist," she also dismisses the current vogue to "feminize" boys, calling social androgyny a "well-intentioned but ill-conceived reform." Instead, Sommers champions "the reality that boys and girls are different, that each sex has its distinctive strengths and graces." Sure to kick up dust in the highly charged gender debates, Sommers's book is at its best when coolly debunking theories she contends are based on distorted research and skewed data, but descends into pettiness when she indulges in mudslinging at her opponents. Perhaps the most informed study yet in this area, this engrossing book sheds light on a controversial subject. It deserves close reading by parents, educators and anyone interested in raising healthy, successful children of both sexes. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. – Publishers Weekly Its's 2011 and The War Against Boys is still smoldering. The suicide rate, the rate of incarceration, the number of Boys under medication, the number of Boys who dropout, The number of Males entering Collage and now the number of Males out of work in every category Males in this Country are in deep trouble and we as a Country are not better for it. Thank you Ms Sommers for the Clarion Call. – Paper Pusher Mom

The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must Do

	Tyre, Peg
	New York, New York USA: Crown Publishing Group, © 2009
Book 320 pp	ISBN-13: 9780307381293    ISBN: 0307381293
Synopsis From the moment they step into the classroom, boys begin to struggle. They get expelled from preschool nearly five times more often than girls; in elementary school, they’re diagnosed with learning disorders four times as often. By eighth grade huge numbers are reading below basic level. And by high school, they’re heavily outnumbered in AP classes and, save for the realm of athletics, show indifference to most extra­curricular activities. Perhaps most alarmingly, boys now account for less than 43 percent of those enrolled in college, and the gap widens every semester! The imbalance in higher education isn’t just a “boy problem,” though. Boys’ decreasing college attendance is bad news for girls, too, because ad­missions officers seeking balanced student bodies pass over girls in favor of boys. The growing gender imbalance in education portends massive shifts for the next generation: how much they make and whom they marry. Interviewing hundreds of parents, kids, teachers, and experts, award-winning journalist Peg Tyre drills below the eye-catching statistics to examine how the educational system is failing our sons. She explores the convergence of culprits, from the emphasis on high-stress academics in preschool and kindergarten, when most boys just can’t tolerate sitting still, to the outright banning of recess, from the demands of No Child Left Behind, with its rigid emphasis on test-taking, to the boy-unfriendly modern curriculum with its focus on writing about “feelings” and its purging of “high-action” reading material, from the rise of video gaming and schools’ unease with technology to the lack of male teachers as role models. But this passionate, clearheaded book isn’t an exercise in finger-pointing. Tyre, the mother of two sons, offers notes from the front lines—the testimony of teachers and other school officials who are trying new techniques to motivate boys to learn again, one classroom at a time. The Trouble with Boys gives parents, educators, and anyone concerned about the state of education a manifesto for change—one we must undertake right away lest school be-come, for millions of boys, unalterably a “girl thing.” From the Hardcover edition.

The Purpose of Boys: Helping Our Sons Find Meaning, Significance, and Direction in Their Lives

	Gurian, Michael Ph.D.           (YOB/YOD)
	New York, New York USA : Wiley, John & Sons, © 2010
Book 272 pp	ISBN-13: 9780470401828    ISBN: 0470401826
Synopsis A pat on the back. a nudge in the ribs. a kick in the pants. a 2 x 4 along the side of the head all motivated me as I read Michael Gurian's latest (and I think greatest) book about and in behalf of boys. Thank you Michael!  - anonymous His reminders about the importance of the extended family, community and other guarantors brought back fond memories of my own youth and the way all these critically committed... From Michael Gurian, the groundbreaking author of the best-selling books The Wonder of Boys and The Minds of Boys, comes the final volume in his definitive trilogy on boys. In this remarkable work, Gurian presents a tool kit for parents who want to discover how to inspire the ultimate fulfillment of their son's life. As he explains, purpose is vital for the success and happiness of every boy. Throughout the book, Gurian shows how parents can help boys build motivation, character, selflessness, meaningful and intimate relationships, a sense of responsibility to family and community, pride in their own good work, and mental and physical health. Based on the latest scientific research regarding how boys develop neurologically, The Purpose of Boys reveals what it takes to best support boys and address their unique needs, weaknesses, and strengths. The book offers an understanding of what is happening inside a boy's brain as he grows up, from birth through early adulthood. The author also explores the roles of the nuclear and extended family, communities, and neighborhoods; the best schools for boys; and specific rite-of-passage experiences and how they influence a young man's personal growth. The Purpose of Boys outlines a map parents can use to help their own sons wrestle with everyday life events and growth. And the book serves as a model to help all of our sons seek a successful future while still boys, adolescents, and young men.

Castaway Kid on Inner Compass ~ interview

July 24, 2011 – West Michigan Shirley Hoogstra interviews Rob Mitchell on Inner Compass

episode 1107

When a child has been abandoned by his or her parents, it leaves a wound that is hard to heal. Those nearby may feel there is nothing they can do for so deep a need. Rob Mitchell, author of Castaway Kid: One Man’s Search for Hope and Home, describes how several people made a difference during his childhood in an orphanage. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. The book is cited here: The Castaway Kid

Inner Compass Home Page:

http://www.calvin.edu/innercompass/

Inner Compass 2010-11 Episode page

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Aired on WGVU:

·         HTTP://www.wgvu.org/tv

The Miracle of Sons: Celebrating the Boys in Our Lives

	Miller, Jamie C.
	Westminster, London UK : Penguin Group, © 2003
	Sander, Jennifer Basye
Book 224 pp	ISBN-13: 9780399528514    ISBN: 0399528512
Synopsis The media today isn't exactly filled with stories about happy, healthy boys and well-adjusted, responsible young men. Luckily, real life is filled with such stories-and so is this book. In The Miracle of Sons, parents share true accounts of the challenges and changes-and the rarely-acknowledged heroism-of our nation's sons. Through heartwarming, eye-opening stories, readers will gain new insight into the world of boys and their delightful life passages-and be reminded that despite the myths and media images, boys do bring a great deal of joy to their families and communities...and grow up to make the world a better place.

The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life

	Gurian, Michael
	Hoboken, New Jersey USA : Jossey-Bass Inc, © 2007
	With: Stevens, Kathy
Book 351 pp	ISBN-13: 9780787995287    ISBN: 0787995282
Synopsis "Wonderfully readable, The Minds of Boys fills a great void for parents and educators by offering practical ways to change the developmental course for boys at risk. Gurian and Stevens show us that we don't have to surrender our boys to depression or school failure: an essential piece of school reform!" —Robin Karr-Morse, author, Ghosts from the Nursery "Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens pull the pieces together in The Minds of Boys, including the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs of boys. This is a must-read for educators from preschool through young adulthood and for any parent or grandparent who is raising a boy. This book is well researched, offering concrete ways to help our boys develop and flourish in and out of school." —Dr. Paul D. Slocumb, author, Hear Our Cry: Boys in Crisis "The Minds of Boys is an excellent read. I found it enlightening not only as a neuroscientist but also as the mother of a young boy. It has absolutely changed the way that I think about boys (and men) and the ways in which they express their enthusiasm for life." —Tracey J. Shors, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University

The Men They Will Become: The Nature and Nurture of Male Character

	Newberger, Eli
	Cambridge, Massachusetts : Da Capo Press, © 2000
Book 372 pp	ISBN-13: 9780738203638    ISBN: 0738203637
Synopsis "How do boys develop character? And what can parents, teachers, and society do, from birth to late adolescence, to help nurture admirable qualities in young men? Eli Newberger brings decades of experience" With clear prose and many real-life examples, Dr. Newberger's great knowledge and understanding of boys shines through this lovely and very readable book. I recommend 'The Men They Will Become' to all those who wish to understand and nurture boys; with the view of helping them reach their true potential for becoming caring members of society. - anonymous